Device for supporting a clothesline or other article



C. O. LARSON Nov. 7, 1939.

Filed Oct. 28, 1938 I N VEN TOR. C/zarZei a Larsaw BY.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 7, 1939 "It i ems tic OTHER ARTICLE CharlesO. Larson, Sterling, B1,, assignor to Chas. O. Larsen .60., Sterling, ilL, a corporation of Hllinois Applicatien 'flctober 23, 1938, Serial No. 237,512,

3 Claims. ((31.24-131) This invention relates to clothesline hooks, and moreparticularly to those that can be fastened to the-side or" a buildingor other structure or support, and which are readily disengageable from the clothesline or other rope or flexible connection. I

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved con'struction and arrangement whereby arnetal member, in efiect a hook, is provided, having a stem that can berigidly mounted or supported on any desired object, and formed with an eye, preierably in a vertical plane, through which a loop on'the end of a clothesline or other rope or any article to besupported, is inserted and then bent over and around the eye, so that the bight or end of. the .loop' will bear tightly upon or against the two parallel portions of the line or'rope, whereby the latter is eiiectively and securely, held in posi tion, but in such a'manner'that it can be readily detached and disconnected from the eye, when such: is necessary and desirable.

"It'is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction tending to increase the general efliciency and desirability of a clothesline hook of this particular character. To the foregoing and other useful ends, the

invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which'- Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a clothesline hook embodying theprinciples of the invention, showing the same removably but rigidly attached to an' upright support.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 22 in Fig. 1 of the drawing.

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the structure shown in Fig. l and Fig. 2 of the drawing, showing the clothesline or rope or other flexible connection formed into a loop which is inserted through the eye-shaped hook of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the said loop iolded over and bentdown around the base of the said eye, to hold the line or rope securely at its end.

Fig.' 5 is a vertical section showing another form of the invention.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a bracket plate I, removably secured by screws 2 to a suitable support 3, which latter may be a post or some portion of a building or other structure. The middle portion of this plate is preferably provided with a central bulge 3 into which the stem 4 of the hook is inserted and rigidly secured in any suitable or desired manner.

The said stem iis formed on the base of the eye 5, the eye and the stem being preferably, formed from a section of metal rod, so that one end thereof forms the saidstem, while the other end-s forms a part of thebase of the eye.

Preferably, the upstandingeye thus formed is in a vertical plane, and isspaceda distance from the bracket plate l, parallel therewith, as shown in the drawing.

The clothesline or other rope or flexible connection I has one end thereof formed into a loop 8 which is inserted through the eye'5, in the manner shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, and which is then bent. upwardly and down andaround the base of? the eye, as shown in. Fig. 4 of the drawing, so that the end or bight oi the loop bears tightly upon or against the two parallel portions of the lin or rope, and is thus held snugly around the base of the eye. .In this way, the

whenit is desired todisconnect theline or rope,

the said bight or end portion of the loop is then loosened and raised a distance to permit it to pass over the eye, so that the latter .will again pass through the loop, and with the latter behind the eye the loop can then be pulled outof the eye-shaped hook and hung up or stored for fu ture use.

In Fig. 5 the construction is substantially the same as previously described, but in this case the eye 5 has its stem 4 formed integral with a screw 9 that may be inserted in a wooden post or in the side of a building, instead of using the plate I previously described.

The clothesline or other hook thus formed is. comparatively cheap and inexpensive to manufacture, is easily mounted in place on a post or building, and is of such shape and character that it cannot cause any injury to the hands, and is not liable to catch and tear clothing.

It will be seen that the flexible loop 8 is essentialto the operation of the device, in the manner described and shown, and it is obvious that this co-operation with the ring 5 of the hook.

It Will be seen that the ring forming the eye 5 is held rigidly in fixedposition with clearance all around it, so that there will be no interference with the manipulation of the loop in the manner shown and described, and it will also be seen that two portions of the loop engage the under side of the said ring, at opposite sides of the base 4, when the loop is tightened in the manner shown and described. In this way, obviously, the loop when properly tightened does not tend to slip, as the harder the pull the tighter the grip of the loop on the fixture. Of course, a pull can be exerted on both portions 1 of the loop, but it will be seen that the latter and the way in which it is combined with the rigid ring 5 are such that the grip of the ring on the fixture will hold and not slip even when a pull is exerted on only one side of the portion 1 of the loop, as would be true of a clothesline, for the latter is ordinarily not double for the full length thereof. To the contrary, in using a clothesline, with the invention shown and described, one end portion thereof would be doubled back to form the loop, and the latter would then be combined with the rigid ring fixture in the manner shown and described. Therefore, it is of the essence of the invention that the manner in which the loop is combined with the rigid ring fixture is such that it will withstand a pull on only one side of the loop, without slipping and without any loosening thereof.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A device for supporting the end of a rope or other flexible line comprising an upstanding metal ring of substantially circular shape, a stem having a rearwardly directed portion extending from the lower portion of the ring in a vertical plane approximately normal to that of the ring and terminating in means for mounting the device on a wall or the like so that the ring will be spaced appreciably outwardly from the surface of the wall and will be securely maintained approximately parallel to said surface with clearance all around the ring except at the junction of the stem therewith, the inner surface of the ring at the bottom thereof having a curvature substantially that of the arc of the ring, whereby the two runs of a looped part of the line may be laid side by side on said portion of the ring surface with the bight of the loop overlying said runs and passing around the outside of the ring and pressing the runs against the inner surface of the ring and against each other with increasing force directly proportional to pull on the line.

2. A device for supporting the end of a rope or other flexible line comprising an upstanding metal ring of substantially circular shape, a stem 5 extending downwardly from the lower portion of the ring and thence rearwardly in a vertical plane approximately normal to that of the ring and terminating in means for mounting the device on a wall or the like so that the ring will be spaced appreciably outwardly from the surface of the wall and will be securely maintained approximately parallel to said surface with clearance all around the ring except at the junction of the stem therewith, the inner surface of the ring at the bottom thereof being adapted to receive the two runs of a looped part of the line with the bight of the loop overlying said runs and passing around the outside of the ring on opposite sides of the downwardly extending portion of the 0 stem and pressing'the runs against the inner surface of the ring and against each other with increasing force directly proportional to pull on the line.

3. A device for supporting the end of a rope or other flexible line comprising an upstanding metal ring of substantially circular shapefa stem extending downwardly from the lower portion of the ring and thence rearwardly in a vertical plane approximately normal to that of the ring and terminating in means for mounting the device on a wall or the like so that the ring will be spaced appreciably outwardly from the surface of the wall and will be securely maintained approximately parallel to said surface with clearance all two runs of a looped part of the line may be laid side by side on said portion of the ring surface with the bight of the loop overlying saidruns and passing around the outside of the ring on opposite sides of the downwardly extending portion of the stem and pressing the runs against the 46 inner surface of thering and against each other with increasing force directly proportional to pull on the line. I

CHARLES O. LARSON. 50 

